Engine-starter



. v. BENDIX.- ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. T, 1920.

1,372,264. Patented Mar.22,1921.

lltl

fill

' section on the line 2--2 so required. by the claims.

a l ATES enema-stamens.

ll dl'thfltletl Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented lllarl 22., ftttllh Application filed February '7, 1M0. terial No. 3.510%.

To all whom it may concern I Be it known that l, Vincents linnnrx, a citizen of the United Eltates, residing at Chi :ago, in the county of Cook and State of lllinois, have invented certain new and use ful improvements in Engine-Starters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an engine starter such as used for the starting of internal combustion engines and pertains to the dr1ve or transmission thereof. The object of my in vention is to producea simple and novel construction of drive whose advantageous fea tures of construction and mode of operation will be apparent from the description here inafter given. ldpealring in general terms my drive comprises a rotatable member or screw shaft of novel formation and provlded with a driving member mounted thereon and adapted to engage either directly or indirectly with the engine member such as the flywheel of the engine.

ltn the drawing l igure l is a sectional elevation of a starter system illustrating a drive embodying my invention and Fig. 2 a of Fig. 1 but on a larger scale.

My drive or transmission belongs to that class known as the Eclipse-Bendix drive and myinvention has been embodied in a construction containing certain features or specific construction of that drive, but it will be understood that my invention is not limited to any such specific construction unless it will also be understood that while I have shown my invention embodied in a starter system of the .single reduction type it is equally applicable to the double reduction type, and also that it is equally applicable to the inboard type as well as to the outboard type herein shown.

7 lleferring to the particular embodinientof my invention as herein illustrated, the prime mover is here a starting motor indicated at 1 and the same is provided with an'entended armature shaft 2 hpon which the drive is mounted and to which it is operatively connected. it collar 3 forming a driving head is secured to the inner end of the shaft 2 and is operatively connected to the driven head ll of the screw shaft which is here 1n the form of a sleeve mounted on the outer end of the shaft 92;. The driving and driven heads are connected by a yielding driving connection such as the coiled spring 5 whose ends are anchored to said heads respectively by means of the studs 6 and 7.

'lllhe'screw shaft or sleeve is provided with a screw threaded portion 8 which is-here shown at its outer end and another portion 9 which 1s plain except for the provis1on of the spiral groove 10 and the circumferential groove 11. The spiral groove is made at a predetermlned angle or pitch according to the desired speed of the longitudinal movement of the pinion as hereinafter described. The screw shaft is provided at its outer end With the usual stop nut 12.

The driving member which is here in shown the form of a pinion 13 is adapted to drive an engine member either directlyor'indirectly but 111 the present instance this pinion is adapted to constitute the only driving-memher upon the drive itself and is also adapted to directly engage the engine member such as the flywheel 14;. This pinion has a central screw threaded bore and is adapted to screwupon the screw threads 8 of the sleeve. This pinion is provided at its inner end with an extension or apron 15 through which passes through a radial hole a yielding plunger 16 vthose rounded inner. end is held projected in the circumferential groove 11 on the screw shaft or sleeve. According to the detailed construction herein shown this plunger is provided intermediate its length with an enlargement or collar ll and with an outwardly extending stem 18. This plunger is yieldingly pressed inwardly by a spring pressure by means of the spring ring 19 having an opening at its central portion through which the pin 18 passes and adapted to yieldingly clamp itself upon the apron 1th, in a manner clearly indicated in Fig. This spring therefore bears inwardly upon the collar 19 and thereby presses the plunger into yielding engagement with the groove 11. The spiral groove 10 runs into the groove 11 and such groove 10 at its juncture with the groove 11 is made somewhat deeper as indicated at 20 with the result that when the screw shaft is rotated by the motor and such deeper portion is. presented to the plunger, there will be a tendency of the plunger to leave the groove 11 and follow the groove 10 with the result that owing to the rotation of till ldh

the screw shaft and the engagement of the will be brought into screw threaded connection with the screw'threa'ds Sand w ll be screwed thereupon. \Vhen the pinion 1s arrested in its longitudinal movement by the stop nut it will partake of the rotary movement of the screw shaft and as it is at this time in mesh with the flywheel, the engine will be rotated and started. 'hen the engine starts on its own power the pinion will be automatically demeshed in the well known manner and the pinion will be restored to its normal position shown in Fig. 1 at which time the plunger 16 will take its position in the groovell. The pinion is not only directed in its longitudinal movement by this plunger but is held in its normal position against any drifting due to vibration or other causes.

In the event that the pinion teeth and flywheel teeth should abut end to end instead of obtaining register thereof, the construction issuch that while the shaft will continue to rotate the pinion will be stopped in its longitudinal movement and the plunger will jump out of the groove 10 which is rather shallow and when another portion of the groove is presented thereto in the continued rotation of the shaft, the plunger will drop therein and will be again presented to the flywheel teeth. This action will cofitinue until proper register and meshing of the teeth is obtained.

I claim:

1. An engine starter drive including a rotatable shaft, a driving member having a screw threaded bore and mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith. said shaft having a screw threaded portion on which such member is threaded when in driving position, and having a nonscrew-threaded portion on which such member rests when in normal position, and automatic means independent of the screw threaded bore of such member and cooperating witlfsuch'. non-screw-threaded portion for moving the' member longitudinally into screw threaded engagement with the screw-threaded portion ofthe shaft.

. 2. An engine starter drive including a rotatable shaft, a driving member having a screw threaded bore and mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotarymovement therewith, said shaft having a screw threaded )ortion on which such member is threaded when in driving position. and automatic means independent of the screw threaded bore of such member for moving the member longitudinally into screw threaded engagement with the screwthreaded portion of the shaft.

3. An engine starte drive'including a rotatable shaft, a driving member having a screw threaded bore and mounted thereon for longitudlnal movement thereof and to tary movement therewith. said shat't having a screw threaded portion on which such member is threaded when in driving posi tion, and having a non-screw threaded portion on which such member rests when in normal position and which is provided with a spiral groove. said driving member having a projection cooperating with the groove whereby the member is automatic: ll advanced longitudinally into screw threaded engagement with the shaft when the latter is rotated.

l. An engine starter drive including a rotatable shaft. a driving member having a screw threaded bore and mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereol and ro- 'ta1' movement therewith. said shaft having a screw threaded portion on which such member is threaded wh n in driving posi' tion. and having a non-screw threaded portion on which such member rests when in normal position and which is provided with a spiral groove. and a yielding plunger mounted on the member and ooperating with the groove whereby the member i automatically ad anced longitudinally into screw threaded engagement with the .-halt when the latter is rotated.

5. An engine staiter drive including a ro tatable shaft. a driving member ha ing a screw threaded bore and mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith. said shat't having a screw threaded portion on which such member is threaded when in driving position. and having a non-screw threaded portion on which such member rests when in normal position and which is provided with a spi 'al groove. and a springpressed plunger mounted on said member and held projected into such groove whereby the member is automatically advanced longittnlinally into screw threaded engagement with the shaft when the latter is rotated.

6. An engine starter drive including a rotatable shaft. a driving member having a screw threaded bore and mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith. said sh :1 it having a screw threaded portion on which such member is threaded when in driving position, and having a non-screw threaded portion on which such member rests when in normal position and which is 'novided with a spiral groove and a circtnnferential groove communicating with one end thereof. and means carried by said inembe and cooperating with the grooves for retaining such member in normal position and for insuring its longitudinal movement.

7. -\n engine starter drive including a rotatable shaft. a driving member having a screw threaded bore and mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and rotary movement therewith. said shaft having ti o a screw threaded portion on which such member is threaded when in driving position, and having a non-screw threaded portion on which such member rests when in normal position and which is provided with a spiral groove'and a circumferential groove communicating with one end thereof, and means carried by said member and cooperating with the grooves comprising a pin carried by said member and yieldingly held projected into the circumferential groove when the member is in normal position and into the spiral groove when the shaft is rotated and the member is advancing longitudinally.

8. An engine starter drive including a rotatable shaft, a drivingmember having a screw threaded bore and mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof and r0 tary movement therewith, said shaft having a screw threaded portion on Which such member is threaded when in driving position,

and having a non-screw threaded portion on which such member rests when 1n normal position and which is provided with a spiral groove and a circumferential groove communicating with one end thereof, and means carried by said member and cotiperating with the grooves comprising a pin carried by said member and yieldingly held projected into the circumferential groove when the member is in normal position to hold it in such position and into the spiral groove when the shaft is rotated to insure the move ment of such. member longitudinally, the communicating end of the spiral groove being deepened to insure the passage of the l tion and having a non screw threaded por-,

tion on which such member rests when inl' normal position and which is provided with a spiral groove, a plunger mounted in the member and cooperating with the groove whereby the member is automatically advanced longitudinally into screw threaded engagement with the shaft when the latter .is rotated, and a split spring ring partially encompassing the member and bearing against the plunger;

VINCENT BENDIX. 

